About Senator Ricardo Lara

Raised in East Los Angeles, Senator Ricardo Lara is the product of strict, supportive and fair Mexican immigrants, Dolores and Venustiano Lara. He made history in 2012 by becoming the first openly gay person of color elected to the California Senate.

Advocate for education

Senator Lara authored the California L.E.A.R.N. Initiative, which asked voters to expand multilingual programs for all students. The measure earned 73% of the vote, the highest percentage of any measure on the 2016 ballot. He authored first-of-its-kind legislation known as the California DREAM Loan Program which offers low-interest loans to University of California and California State University students to reach their higher education goals. Senator Lara won $10 million to expand the program and support community college students in 2017.

Fighting for clean air

Senator Lara has emerged as one of the most effective environmental champions in California by consistently passing policies that improve health conditions and rein in air pollution. Senator Lara authored Senate Bill 1204 in 2014, which created the California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program and accelerated the deployment of low-emissions vehicles. Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 1383 (2016), known as the Super Pollutant Reduction Act, which is the nation’s most aggressive law to tackle short-lived climate pollutants black carbon, methane and HFC. Senator Lara won nearly $1 billion for clean trucks, buses and port equipment and reducing super pollutants in 2017 alone. Sen. Lara was nominated for the 2017 Climate and Clean Air Awards with Governor Brown and ARB for his work on short-lived climate pollutants.

Working for Health for All

Senator Lara authored the Health4All Kids Act, which now covers all California children with full-scope Medi-Cal regardless of their immigration status. In 2017, he introduced Senate Bill 562, the Healthy California Act, to bring universal, comprehensive health care to all Californians.

Voice for American values

Senator Lara has proposed legislation in 2017 to protect the human rights of immigrants in for-profit detention facilities (Senate Bill 29), to prevent state officials from participating in religious discrimination through a federal registry (Senate Bill 31), and to bring equity and justice to our juvenile and criminal justice system. He created a select committee on binational students and introduced legislation to ensure U.S. students exiled in Mexico have the right to attend American schools. Senator Lara continues to stand strong in reaffirming California’s longstanding commitment to American values of inclusion, diversity and freedom from oppression.

Senator Lara earned a BA in Journalism and Spanish with a minor in Chicano Studies from San Diego State University.